Make A Recycle Bag From A T-Shirt

Making a recycle bag out of a shirt is really easy! This project is great for grocery shopping, and school gear. A great way to preserve a favorite shirt, or great craft day for adults, kids ,etc. You can use many sizes – anything from a small shirt for a lunch box, to a large shirt for groceries. The best part is you either have a shirt ready to use for free or you can grab one at the local dollar store!

Make sure your shirt is washed & dried.

Turn your shirt inside out.

You will need to close the bottom of the shirt. This can be done several ways…

Use a sewing machine, hand stitch, or use fuse fabric – which you iron and fuse the fabric together. You could use a glue, but this might not be the most durable.

I opted to sew mine together with my sewing machine. I straight stitched the bottom all the way across.

Funny story, I was given my sewing machine by my husband’s grandma. I never learned out to use one, so my husband taught me the basics.

Turn the t-shirt right side out.

Use a sharp scissors – preferably a fabric scissors if you have one. I cut them just outside the seam so that the fabric would stay intact and not fray.

Cut the neck out. This was a bit small for my bag I felt so I actually decided to cut it a bit wider. You can decide the opening size you would like. The weight of what you put inside will force the opening too, so be careful not to cut too much.

Your bag is ready to go. Grab the handles and fill it up.

Optional – if your shirt does not have a design in it, feel free to decorate it. I used some iron ons and fabric paint. You could also use fabric markers as well. Let the kids add some school spirit to theirs or decorate your bags for you.

Optional – if your shirt does not have a design in it, feel free to decorate it. I used some iron ons and fabric paint. You could also use fabric markers as well. Let the kids add some school spirit to theirs or decorate your bags for you.